Hurt on the job with a vacation planned. What should you do?
An injured worker called us for help. The insurance company doesn't dispute that he hurt his arm on the job. In fact they have already paid for his surgery. He has a 12 week physical therapy program and has completed two weeks of it.
Earlier this year, not anticipating that he would get hurt on the job, he booked his family's dream vacation to Disney World (side note, I was dreading that trip with my family, but took my kids this year and that place is awesome. So well run and everyone is so friendly). Not only is the money he paid for the trip non-refundable, but his wife and kids have been talking about it for months. He certainly doesn't want to let them down.
The insurance company told him that if he took his vacation and missed out on physical therapy they would terminate his benefits. Obviously this created a huge dilemma for him.
The good news is that there is a solution to his problem. We suggested that he get a home physical therapy program to take with him to Disney. It's important that he recover, but you don't have to drop every aspect of your life if you are hurt on the job. While he can't do anything that would hurt his condition and it would be unreasonable to take months of time away, a pre-planned vacation would almost certainly not be deemed unreasonable.
We will go to the insurance company with our very reasonable plan and will show case law that supports our position. If they still cut him off we will file a trial motion and a petition for penalties and fees that will punish them for what would be unreasonable behavior.
We are workers' compensation attorneys that help people with Illinois work injuries anywhere in IL via our statewide network of attorneys. Contact us and we will answer your questions or find the right lawyer for your situation.
